Acadia check engine light

Just bought an Acadia and at 250 miles the check engine light went on. That was three days ago and the Oakland CA dealership service dept. is still scratching it's head. Apparently the third cylinder is malfunctioning and they had to send away for diagnostic software that wasn't provided to them before the Acadia's were rolled out. Cart before the horse GMC!! I'm a long time Toyota owner who took an educated chance on buying American. I love the way the Acadia performs at every level but needless to say, the last thing I expected was to be driving a loaner vehicle around less than a week after I bought it. Hope this is just an aberration but if anyone else has this problem......So far GM has been very good on the customer support end but I'm still quite disappointed with how this little GM transition has begun

Comments

I think I would not leave the car with them. Just reset the light and go - I had a Ford that Check Engine reported "instantaneous misfire on cyl 4" - reset and never happened again. I wonder if it is something similar to that? Were there any symptoms? Did the light stay off after being reset?

I have an Acadia ordered after a decade of foreign cars and trucks. . .so I know where you are coming from. . .

Glad you guys are coming back to American. I just ordered an Acadia as well. I've had a 2000 and 2004 Montana recently, and both were fine vehicles, with very few problems. The service at my dealership has been outstanding.

Well I wish it had been that easy. It turns out that there is a major malfunction in the third cylinder and it's so bad that GM is sending out a brand new engine!! God only knows how long it will take before I'm actually driving my own vehicle again, assuming I ever do. They say this is the only Acadia in the country that has had this problem....we'll see. I'm beyond disappointed and the dealership took over two weeks to diagnose the problem....

Wow, that's awful. I had a '95 Sonoma that had the engine replaced at 4,000 miles. I guess if it took them two weeks to diagnose and likely takes them another couple weeks or more to repair, you have yourself a lemon depending on the state you live in. I think here in WA, if your new car is in the shop for more than 30 days or goes in for the same issue more than 3 times, it's a lemon. Don't quote me on that. I remember we could have pursued the lemon law with our truck.

So the new engine is in and then we had the safety recall and while they were fixing that problem , I mentioned that the FM band on my radio wasn't producing the same amount of volume as the AM and XM bands. So.....yes you guessed it...they are sending me out a new radio....LOL . I feel like I'm on a ride that I can't quite get off. On the good side however, this is one sweet riding vehicle. I love the thing and I haven't seen a single one out on the road here in California. There is absolutely no wind noise at any speed, it handles like a nimble sports car and the manumatic shift option makes the driving experience as much fun as you want it to be.

Yes Nissan makes extra reliable cars just like the Nissan Quest. The Nissan Quest has amongst the worst marks in consumer report for reliability (lots of black). My brother in law bought one and has had his full share of problems with it.

I traded my 2004 Toyota Sienna in for my new Acadia. The 2002 Sienna had several recalls in the first months of production as I remember. Such things as needing to replace the radiator and having to fix the sliding door so it doesn't accidentally close on a kid when the car was on an incline.

One of my employees has a Toyota 4-Runner and the top of his engine blew at around 90k miles which cost him $2500 to fix.

By the way, Hyundai used to make crap (remember the Excel), so I guess no Korean cars. We all know what FIAT stands for and don't get me started on the Yugo. So No European cars for me.

So in summary it looks like Japanese, American cars, European cars and Korean cars have problems sometimes. I guess I will need to give up driving or just live with the fact that cars sometimes have problems. I've bought cars from GM, Ford, Mazda, Toyota, Acura over the last decade or two and by and large they have all been good vehicles. My experience is that cars have come a long way in reliability in the last 10 years and by and large GM, Ford, Toyota, Honda and even Nissan make good products. So I buy whatever car fits my needs and budget and if something goes wrong that why the car has a warranty.

I feel bad for zeepro, but the engine comes with a 100k mile warranty. Hopefully this will be the last of his problems. I also thoroughly love my Acadia. As far as not having seen to many of them, I have some bad news for Zeepro. I was in LA last week for a day and saw two Acadias on the road. Last week at home I saw two others on the opposite corners of the intersection at a traffic light (3 Acadias at one stop light, what are the odds of that 2 months into production). Looks like these guys are selling like hotcakes.

As much as I hated going through this, the truth is that I love the Acadia and everyone needs to know that GM once they got their stuff together, really stepped up and took care of the problem, in fact, they gave my $750 in compensation for the inconvenience which I thought was some excellent customer service. I am still a fan and I hope this is the end of my problems...well aside from a small radio issue....which hopefully will be fixed with a software update. Bottom line the vehicle is great

Thanks for one of the best responses to the anti-American car nonsense. Yours was an unbiased response that made sense. I feel the same. I have owned six American cars and one foreign. That was not because I wouldn't own foreign so much as it was because I liked the specific car. I have not owned the same make twice. I've had a Chevy, Olds, Buick, Dodge, Pontiac, Nissan, and a Ford before placing my order for yet another different make - GMC (the Acadia). We bought a Honda for my daughter and could probably have purchased another car for the amount we put in repairs on that one. I've had problems with every one of those car makes. The only problem I have with the foreign cars (given that both American and foreign have issues) is that the foreign car issues are considerably more expensive to fix - don't ask how many thousands of dollars I put into the Honda and Nissan before unloading them.

That doesn't mean that I don't like those cars. I'd buy most of them again if they offered a model I liked and trusted it to be reliable.

I put my order for an Acadia in three weeks ago after test driving six different makes/models. It will probably be at least four more weeks before it is delivered. I rented an Acadia last weekend to be sure I wanted to stick with it. I currently drive a Mustang GT (manual) convertible and have never owned an SUV. I absolutely love the Acadia. Much to my amazement, it handled as well as the Mustang. Can't wait to get my own.

I have to ask....how did you rent an Acadia when the dealers don't seem to have any inventory to speak of yet?I'd love to rent one for a weekend instead of just taking one of those beloved 20 minute test drives (otherwise known as a 'rolling sales pitch') :sick:

First off, let me say, I LOVE my Acadia....2nd...let me say I'd love it even more if it wasn't at the shop (again). I bought my SLT-1 on Feb 17th. Pretty well loaded....DVD, Sunroof, XM, Pwr Gate, Remote Start, Trailering Pkg. About a week after purchase, I began to notice a problem with the sound system. In certain circumstances (varied), the system would completely lock up ! No sound of any kind through the system - i.e. no OnStar, no AM,FM,XM,DVD,Entertainment,Blinkers,Hazards,Warning chimes etc. Very strange.....took it into shop. No clue on what's going. They have had it for almost a week this time. New radio is in, but they cannot get the software loaded into the unit. Have tried all 19 Data ports on the vehicle to load it. They are stumped, as is GM Engineering. Meanwhile I'm driving a rental (at their expense) which I appreciate but it's still not my new Acadia. Also, I am having them resolve the following:- Transmission Lag Issue (software update)- Airbag Sensor Recall (software - actually was done when I first brought it in about 2 weeks ago)- Replace left tailight - condensation inside the lens housing.------------Zeepro - I am glad to hear they compensated you for your inconvenience. Did you have to "escalate" or did the dealer offer it to you?------------Is anyone else having any other (or same) Audio issues with their Acadia??????------------I realize this is a new model, and as such, to some extent, this would be considered "normal" however, I'm ready to get my new car back. ------------Thoughts anyone?

Alamo has Acadias. They have given it a special class - Crossover SUV. It was only $70/day with taxes - not a bad price to pay to make sure you will be happy with your $40 thousand investment. I couldn't recommend renting one enough. It was just what I needed to be certain I made the right decision. I still can't believe it corners about as well as my Mustang. I got 19.5 mpg for my weekend of driving with 2/3 city and 1/3 hwy... better than I get in the Mustang. I was also spoiled by the XM I previously thought I didn't want or need - decided it was a necessity.

My radio problem only ocurrs on the FM band where it loses both reception and volume. So today they called and advised me that they had my radio in . I'll schedule it ASAP. How did your transmission lag issue present itself? I ask because the vehicle reviews referenced a bit of lag, which I experience, so I'm wondering if I should have them look at that also. As to the compensation, I called GMC's customer service people and asked for a " Specialist" who basically stayed in touch with me on a regular basis and with me pushing the issue by making sure that the service manager and the specialist were in communication, eventually after I got the vehicle back, they got authorization from someone higher up like a Division Sales Manager to compensate me. The way I approached them was by figuring out what a monthly payment would be if I financed 90% of the vehicle cost and paid it off in four years. Then since they had the vehicle for about a month I had them compensate me for that month, in my case it was $750.

I found mine at the Sacramento Airport. They show up online as a class of car, so they must be at other locations. I found it online by searching on Acadia and rental car. I checked around to find a location that had it. I imagine that if you called Alamo, they could tell you where they have it because they don't show any other crossovers.

Z. My transmission lag issue is pretty much an overall sense that the trans is frequently hunting for the proper gear. And, a too-soon upshift into higher gear ratios. So, heading down the road, from start to about 40MPH it has already gone to 6th gear. Then, when instant acceleration needed, the trans seems to have an abnormal pause when downshifting to a lower gear and frequently doesn't go low enough to get you the power you need. You have to really jam it to the bottom to engage the right gear. Anyway, on the Dealer Service Workorder, the code number of this Service Bulletin seems to be 07058 - "Svc Upd - Invent/Cust Veh - IMPROVED TRANS CONTROL CALS. They also let me know of a potential problem with the Power Liftgate and the Intermediate Steering Shaft Boot(#07073). The liftgate may not affect every owner but the Steering Shaft needs to be lubricated with GM SuperLube in order to prevent future problems.-Thanks for the info on GMC Cust Service Specialist. I am making the call today.

How do you compare the cabin space between the Sienna and the Acadia?I currently have a 2000 T&C Ltd AWD and a 2004 Sienna Ltd AWD for family use. Personally, I no longer trust the reliability ratings, particularly on Toyota products.I am currently looking for a replacement fot the Sienna.Thanks in advance.

I don't have any first hand knowledge about the Sienna but I can tell you that the Acadia has tons of cabin space, very roomy but it doesn't feel cavernous at all. Go drive one, sit in it. Be the Acadia!!!

Neither the Acadia nor any of the other crossovers can hold a candle to minivans in terms of interior space. That said, the Acadia comes closest and the interior space is decent. I'm coming from a '97 Grand Caravan. I looked at all the crossovers and minivans at the local auto show. I have pretty much decided on the Acadia because I don't really need the sliding doors and extra space of a minivan that I loved when my kids were younger. If space is your primary concern, I would stick with a minivan.

Thanks for your information.I have similar back ground. I had 96 Grand Caravan first then 2000 T&C and 04 Sienna.The ample space of the minivan was very useful so far, for many long trips and for twin babies.Since my twins are almost 5, I may have to make similar decision.Thanks.

"How do you compare the cabin space between the Sienna and the Acadia? "

The Sienna has more cargo space when all the seats are up as there is a well where the seats fold down into. That said, there is still plenty of room in the back for every day tasks (like a Costco shopping run for a family of six). We could probably get two large suitcases and a small one with the seats up. Also the back bench is a 60 / 40 split, so on a long trip with lots of luggage I would plan on putting the short bench down. On the passenger comfort side, my kids are happier in the Acadia. They seem to have more leg room and the back of my seat seems to get kicked less. So far no complaints from the kids on long trips (but the built in DVD player might have something to do with this).

Overall if maximum cargo space with full cabin occupancy is your goal, then a minivan is still the way to go. But the Acadia comes faily close and I am much happier driving the Acadia than the Sienna.

Two thoughts; one related to your issue, other not.If you have car seats in second row, can you slide seats forward w/o tilt to access third row? Also, I've seen 19 inch Goodyear Eagle RSA's on loaded SLT...anyone know what the std 18 inch tire is?....Thx....metmdx

My audio issues have been intermittant. Sometimes my Nav system does not come up at all requiring me to open unit and re insert disc. Other times my heads up display does not show my radio info even though it is set to do so. Troublesome...

I just left my Acadia at dealer today for several problems, one being the same thing you are experiencing with radio info not coming up on HUD and having to reinsert disc because nothing at all on NAV sometimes. They tell me there is an update for NAV system. As far as other issues go, I am going to put them in other forum since this seems to be limited to check engine light. I only replied to yours because I have the same issue.Hope this helps.